Charlotta Janssen ~ “So Abstract she’s concrete”

Tonight after a long day of speeches and panels, a bunch of us left Albany State University’s Hyper Gym for an after party in the lobby of the Hilton Garden Inn on the banks of the Flint River at the foot of the new bridge. Met a German-American artist named Charlotta Janssen. She lives in Brooklyn but was born in Maine to German parents living in America under the Marshall plan. From street musician to painter, her art has taken her around the globe. She came to Albany for the 50th Anniversary with Charles Jones, a hero of the Movement—he’s on my list to interview.

The CJ's! Charlotta Janssen and Charles Jones. June 2011. Photo by Anita Jones

Seconds after we met, Charlotta pulled out her iPad to show her portraits of Freedom Riders and Montgomery Bus Boycotters. Took my breath away. She paints fairly large, from mug shots, using a narrow spectrum of resonant, earthy teal, white, black and rust—like the boldness and nuances in tainted copper.
This is so appropriate to the subject ~ the times were certainly corrosive, and at the same time vigorous, alive with activism! Charlotta’s paintings capture that…even on an iPad screen. Love to see them in exhibit. Time for field trip! (some day) End Journal ~

Very hip, talented woman. So glad we connected and that [maybe] you get to meet her for the first time here.
Poster below is for her upcoming show:THREADS OF A STORYHistory Inspiring Art
April 1st ~ May 28th, 2012Troy University Rosa Parks Museum

“In 2010 the Freedom Riders took ahold of me.
Mug shots that had preserved the reciprocity of confrontation—beingconfronted by injustice whilst confronting it for its injustice drew me in.”

About Anita Gail

Writer, visual artist and oral tradition storyteller, Anita Gail was born and raised in Albany, Georgia, living in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1985. As a 2018-19 Affiliate Artist at The Headlands Center for the Arts, she is in the query phase for her debut novel, Peach Seed Monkey. The story was a Novella semi-finalist in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.

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Art Installation

Open House as 2018-19 Affiliate Artist at Headlands Center for the Arts: studio art installation based on scene: “Sunday Dinner” from Peach Seed Monkey, my debut novel—now in search of an agent. To view gallery: Click on photo above.